I have been making my own laundry detergent in a large quantities for a while. Usually I fill up an empty OxyClean container with detergent to sit beside my machine and store the remaining bulk in a larger storage container. I have to do a LOT of laundry so I have to refill the OxyClean container often. I've been brainstorming on making a refillable container of its own.

A few days ago when I finished off the last heavenly drop from a gallon sized bucket of ice cream (don't judge me), I knew I had solved my problem. The plastic ice cream buckets (with their nice shape, capacity, easy snap lid and handy handle) would make the perfect container for my homemade laundry detergent. Then I thought, why stop with just a new laundry detergent bucket? I also like to drag craft projects from room to room as well. Why not make a bucket for organizing and transporting craft tools and supplies? So I pulled out another ice cream container from the recycle bin.

First I cleaned off all the manufacturer printed labels with a cotton ball dipped in fingernail polish remover.

For my laundry detergent container I jumped over to my favorite graphics site on the web, The Graphics Fairy. She always has some amazing clip art & graphics up for grab. When I saw these two graphics I decided to merge them into a combination of my own to make it look like a vintage laundry label.

I adjusted sizes, merged the two together using the paint.net program, added wording and voila! This is the graphic I ended up with.

If you look at the bottom area of the ribbon, you can see where I merged the wringer graphic into the folds for an added touch. I uploaded the final graphic in pdf format (without watermark)to my google drive if you would like to use it. It should be the proper size to fit most ice cream bucket lids. If you would like to use it, feel free to click the link below to print it. If any bloggers out there would like to use it and post the results on their blog, please consider giving me a shout out link on the post. I would love to see the results! :)

Once I printed the graphic and cut it out, I used Mod Podge to secure it to the top of the lid and added a few coats of Mod Podge on top to seal. The handle on the bucket was a bright blue color. I popped it off and spray painted it black to match. I allowed everything to dry overnight, popped the handle back on and it was done.

For the craft tote I went back to the original Graphics Fairy Vintage Round Frame with Ribbon Border. I opened it up in the paint.net program, adjusted to desired size and added the letter B in the center. I then copied and pasted the graphic on to a blank word document and a test printed on a piece of copy paper. The test copy allowed me to see the exact position on the page that my graphic would print. I then tapped a page from an old book on top of the test graphic and ran the entire page back through the printer again to print my graphic on the book page.

Next I cut out my book page graphic, secured it to the top of my lid with Mod Podge and then finished up with more coats on top to seal.

For the sides of the bucket, I cut several sides from the same old book (ready for recycle) and glued them in random directions using regular, white, school-type glue and until all was completely covered. I then sealed the strips with several coats of Modge Podge to seal.

To decorate the handle, I popped out it out and wrapped loops of jute twine around it. I secured the beginning of the wrap with hot glue and added more hot glue sporadically along the way to help keep it secure. I finished with more hot glue and trimmed off the excess.

I then allowed everything to dry overnight, popped the handle back in and it was done.

The ways you can upcycle and decorate ice cream bucket containers are endless. I hope mine have inspired you to upcycle your own. If I have, please be sure to share! Until next time, happy crafting! :)

UPDATE: Many of my readers have contacted me and asked for my detergent recipe. There are lots out there but have finally found the perfect combination for me. It has now been posted on my sister site. See: